


piece of cake

by shutupimshakira (Sniperdoodle)



Series: Edeleth Week 2020 [3]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/F, Family, Fluff, Future Fic, Post-Black Eagles Route (Fire Emblem: Three Houses)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2020-10-02
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:47:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26724637
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sniperdoodle/pseuds/shutupimshakira
Summary: “Alright team,” Byleth begins. “I have assembled you for a very important mission, if you choose to accept. It requires precision, strength, agility, intelligence, and above all: secrecy. Your mission . . . is to help me bake your mother a birthday cake. Do you accept?”Byleth enlists her children's help in preparing for Edelgard's birthday.(For Edeleth Week Day 5: Dessert)
Relationships: Edelgard von Hresvelg/My Unit | Byleth
Series: Edeleth Week 2020 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1944229
Comments: 4
Kudos: 59





	piece of cake

“Alright team,” Byleth begins. “I have assembled you for a very important mission, if you choose to accept. It requires precision, strength, agility, intelligence, and above all: secrecy. Your mission . . . is to help me bake your mother a birthday cake. Do you accept?”

Her dramatics gets Beatrice, Ophelie, and Cassidy all giggling, but her daughters are young enough to find this very amusing. Damian at least smiles, but Jesper’s frown only seems to deepen. 

If you had told Byleth nineteen years ago, when she was first hired at Garreg Mach, that she would settle down and start a family with her lovely wife she wouldn’t believe you. But now, she wouldn't change anything. 

Byleth and Edelgard started expanding their family shortly after they had gotten married, when Damien came into their lives. They found the young boy in the clutches of Those Who Slither and adopted him. Then they had Beatrice while they were still the Emperor and Empress of Fodlan. Shortly after abdicating, Ophelie was born. Cassidy was born when they were well settled into their new home. And finally, they adopted Jesper when the young boy broke into their home to steal some food last year. 

“Yes, we’ll all help,” Beatrice declares. The nine-year-old takes after Edelgard in many ways, and is the leader of all her siblings (though she’s the middle child). She looks around, “Right?”

“Of course,” Damien says. The fifteen-year-old is kind and quickly grew up to be the tallest in the family (he has to duck under the door frames). He’s a gentle giant in every respect who’s good with all of his younger siblings. 

Ophelie simply nods. The seven-year-old takes more after Byleth, as she’s quiet and reserved. Beneath her calm demeanor she’s curious and tends to ask questions that makes her mothers pause to consider before answering. 

“I WANT CAKE!” Cassidy loudly declares. The four-year-old is the most excitable of her siblings, who seems to need to keep moving and going on adventures. 

Finally, Jesper just grumbles something under his breath. The eleven-year-old is the newest member of their family and is fighting it. He spent so long being on his own that he’s not used to someone else looking out for him, but Byleth has seen that he’s slowly learned how to be a part of a family. 

Byleth laughs and leans over to ruffle Cassidy’s hair, “We have to make the cake first, Cass. And we have you wait for your mama to return.”

“Aw,” Cassidy pouts. 

“It’s not for us, it’s for Mama,” Beatrice points out. 

“But Mama will share it with us, right?” Cassidy checks. 

“Of course, she will,” Byleth says. The only people who love sweets more than Edelgard are her daughters. 

“How do we even make a cake?” Ophelie asks. 

“I’ll explain when we get into the kitchen,” Byleth says. “But we all need to work together, alright? Let’s get baking.”

Beatrice, Ophelie, and Cassidy all run ahead into the kitchen, with Damien quick to follow them to make sure they don’t start getting into trouble. Jesper hangs behind, kicking the ground. 

“I don’t have to help, do I?” Jesper grumbles. 

“I won’t make you do anything you don’t want,” Byleth says. “But I know that we’d all appreciate your help in doing something nice for Edelgard.”

Jesper pouts, but he walks into the kitchen.

The plan is simple: bake a cake and put up decorations while Dorothea distracts Edelgard with a girl’s day out. Even though most of the children easily agreed to help, getting them all organized is another thing. 

“Let’s get started,” Byleth announces. The girls are already running around and Damien is tripping over himself trying to stop them from hurting themselves. Jesper retreats into the breakfast nook at the back of the room in an attempt to hide. It is chaos already. Byleth expects nothing less. She plucks Cassidy off of the ground as she passes by, and Ophelie bumps into her leg.

Cassidy taps Byleth’s shoulder, “You’re it!”

“Hold on, we’re baking a cake, not playing tag,” Byleth reminds her. 

“Oh. Right.” 

“We need to get ingredients out, right?” Beatrice asks. She and Damien are the two kids who help Byleth bake and cook the most, so she seems to have an idea about what they’re doing. 

“Yes,” Byleth says. “We’ll need butter, sugar, eggs, flour, salt, baking powder, and vanilla. There are also the pans and measuring cups. Damien, can you get the eggs?”

Damien nods and pulls out the eggs they collected from their chickens that morning. Beatrice collects Ophelie so they can collect the pans and cups that are on the lower shelves. Since Cassidy is still in her arms, she insists on helping with the food. 

When Byleth opens one of the cupboards, Cassidy reaches out with her arms, “I wanna get it.”

“Okay, but you’ve got to hold on tight,” Byleth warns her. 

“I will,” Cassidy promises. She lets her grab the bag of sugar, and she hugs it to keep a grip on it. When Byleth reaches for the flour with her free hand, Cassidy insists, “I can carry that too!”

“But your arms are full,” Byleth argues. 

“I’m strong! I can do it!” Cassidy pouts. 

Cassidy’s stubborn, just like her mother, so Byleth gives in and lets her hold both bags (while keeping them steady with a hand underneath the bags). 

All of the ingredients are gathered without incident. So far, so good. 

“Now, I’m going to start the oven,” Byleth says. “I need someone to measure the flour, baking powder and salt and sift it together, and someone else to prepare the pans.”

“I can handle the measuring and sifting,” Beatrice declares. “Damien can prepare the pans.”

“I’m fine with that,” Damien shrugs.

“Can I sift too?” Cassidy asks. 

“Yes, Byleth jumps in. “Bea, why don’t you measure while Cass sifts?”

Beatrice contemplates this for a moment, “That’s alright.”

“And it looks like you’re with me, Ophelie,” Damien says. 

“Did you want to help with anything, Jesper?” Byleth asks. He’s still sitting away from everyone, shoved into the corner of the breakfast nook. 

“I’m good,” he says. 

Byleth nods and turns her back to start the oven. All it needs is a little fire magic and then it starts to warm up. As fire flickers in her palm, things immediately go wrong behind her. 

“Wait Cassidy-!”

When Byleth turns around, her kids are covered in flour. It even made it’s way over to Jesper, who doesn’t look any happier with flecks of flour on his shirt. Cassidy, who is still holding the bag of flour, unabashedly says, “Sorry.”

“It’s alright,” Byleth heads to the cupboard and grabs a second bag of flour she had bought the day before. She expected something like this was going to happen and doubled up on everything she could. She pats Cassidy’s head as she sets the new bag down on the counter, “Let Bea help you pour the flour in. We’ll clean up everything once we’re done.”

If past experiences are anything to go by, there will be many more messes. But somehow, things start to come together. 

With the pans prepped and ingredients measured, they start to mix things together. Everyone gets a turn mixing the ingredients, even Jesper. They get the three layers of the cake into the oven, and take a quick break to clean up the flour before moving onto the next step. 

“Next, we need to make the frosting,” Byleth declares. She glances at the clock, “And get decorations up. Who wants to be on decorations duty?” Beatrice’s and Ophelie’s hands go high into the air, “Alright Bea, Ophie, the decorations we bought yesterday are in the closet. I want you to make this place look beautiful.”

“On it Mama!” Beatrice declares as she and Ophelie make a run for it. 

“I can help with the frosting, Ma,” Damien offers. 

“Me too!” Cassidy quickly adds. 

Byleth helps Damien and Cassidy get ready, with Cassidy taking cues from her big brother. Once they’re settled, she checks in on Beatrice and Ophelie to make sure that they were able to find the decorations and also weren’t doing anything dangerous. Finally, she’s able to talk to Jesper. 

She slides into the breakfast nook, opposite of Jesper, and asks, “Are you doing alright, kid?” 

He shrugs, “Fine.”

“I appreciated your help in baking.”

“I just mixed together the eggs. I didn’t help that much.”

“I still appreciate it,” Byleth insists. “Is there anything else you’d like to do? Once the cake is done baking, we’ll be frosting it, or there’s a lot of decorations that we’re going to put up.”

“I’m _fine_ ,” Jesper stresses. 

Usually, Jesper is a bit more receptive to family activities. He pretends to begrudgingly join when he ends up having fun. Today though . . . maybe he’s just not in the mood or there’s something else on his mind. Either way, Byleth knows not to push him, “That’s alright. Let me know if you want to join, okay?”

Jesper still has his arms crossed, but he nods his head. Byleth reaches over to ruffle his hair before going back to oversight. 

Damien and Cassidy finish the frosting, and Byleth has to stop her from running off to join her sisters while covered in frosting. Only once she gets cleaned up, she can go to join them. Shortly afterwards the cake is done baking and she runs back to help with frosting it. 

At the same time the cake finishes, Beatrice comes to corral Damien into helping hang decorations because he’s tall. Byleth is thankful that he’s so gentle because he doesn’t mind being bossed around by the nine-year-old. 

Cassidy does her best to help frost the cake, but she’s four years-old so it’s messy afterwards. But it’s done and that’s all Byleth can ask for. She then has to clean frosting off of Cassidy again. 

The cake is done and the decorations are up, so now the guests need to arrive. 

As always, the first to arrive is Hubert. Even years after Edelgard had abdicated, he still had the urge to micromanage her affairs. According to Ferdinand, he was lost for months after they had left the palace. Now, Hubert is fine with simply making sure events like this go smoothly and being involved in his nieces’ and nephews’ lives. 

He and Ferdinand don't knock when they arrive, because they don't have to. As soon as Hubert opens the door and steps inside, Cassidy bolts across the living room shouting, "UNCLE HUBIE!"

With practiced ease, Hubert picks up Cassidy before she can run into his kneecaps, "Hello to you too, Cassidy." 

“Are you here for mama’s birthday?” Cassidy asks. 

Hubert chuckles darkly, “I am.”

Ferdinand steps inside behind Hubert and lightly slaps his shoulder, “Hubert, it’s Edelgard’s birthday. Can you not sound ominous for one day?”

“What’s omy-moose?” Cassidy questions. 

“Nothing,” Hubert clears his throat. 

“Uncle Hubie, Uncle Ferdie!” Beatrice shouts. “Come here, you need to see the decorations we put up for Mama’s birthday!”

“Bea, your uncles just got here,” Byleth reminds her. 

“Oh. Yeah. Hi,” Beatrice recovers. She grabs Ferdinand’s free hand, “Come on!”

Ferdinand gets dragged along by the willful nine-year-old and Hubert follows with Cassidy. Byleth just laughs, the two visit often so they’re used to her kids’ shenanigans. 

After Hubert and Ferdinand, the other Black Eagles begin to arrive. Petra arrives next by wyvern, and Damien helps her get it into their temporary tables. Lysithea and Leonie arrive one after another within an hour. Finally, Caspar, Linhardt and Bernadetta all come together. 

The decorations are up, the cake has been baked, and the guests have arrived. All that is left is for Dorothea to return with Edelgard. 

“When will Mama be back?” Cassidy asks for the umpteenth time. 

Byleth glances are the clock, “She and Aunt Dorothea aren’t supposed to be back for another twenty minutes.”

“But that’s so long!” Cassidy whines. 

“Why don’t you go and see if your Uncle Caspar has a story for you?” Byleth asks. “Bea and Ophie are there now.”

Cassidy lights up and runs off to join her sisters without another word. Byleth sighs, that’s one more kid entertained for twenty minutes. Damien is talking with Ferdinand and Leonie about horses, so he’s good. All that’s left is Jesper . . . 

She finds Jesper upstairs in his room, hunched over his desk as he wraps something up. Byleth knocks on his door frame as she leans in, “Jes? Is everything alright?”

Jesper jumps and holds the present close to his chest in an attempt to hide it, “Yeah. I’m good.”

“El should be returning soon, will you come downstairs for the surprise?” 

He nods and ducks under her arm as he runs downstairs. She sighs, hoping that he actually is alright and isn’t hiding anything. 

When she returns downstairs, it’s five minutes until Edelgard and Dorothea are supposed to return. Hubert ambushes her at the foot of the stairs, “Is everything ready?”

“Yes, it is. Don’t worry, Hubert,” Byleth insists. 

“Is Jesper alright?” he continues. “I just saw him dash downstairs.”

Byleth bites her lip, “I hope so.”

They don’t have time to continue this conversation, as there’s a knock on the door. Since all the guests have arrived it can only mean one thing: Dorothea and Edelgard are back

Everyone rushes to the door. Dorothea holds it open and as soon as Edelgard steps through everyone shouts, “HAPPY BIRTHDAY!”

Edelgard stops, frozen in the doorway, at least until the girls ambush her. She manages to catch Cassidy and Ophelie, while Beatrice hugs her legs. Damien breaks through the crowd next, hugging all four of them. 

Before Byleth joins her family, she spots Jesper hiding back and gives him a reassuring smile. He seems unsure, but nods and walks up with her. 

“Happy birthday, El,” Byleth says before kissing her wife. 

“So, this is why you were all so eager to get me out of the house,” Edelgard chuckles. 

“I hope the surprise was worth it.”

“It is.”

“Mama!” Beatrice interrupts. “You need to see the decorations and the cake we made!”

“Did you do all of this all by yourselves?” Edelgard asks. The girls excitedly nod. “Well, you’ll have to let go of me so I can go see it.”

They give Edelgard room to breathe and let them show her the decorations and cake (Cassidy is sad that this didn’t mean they could eat the cake now). They eat dinner first, each one of their friends wishing Edelgard a happy birthday. 

Jesper remains reserved throughout dinner, until he pulls Edelgard aside before the cake-cutting. Byleth hands hear-by, curious to see what he’s doing. 

“Uhm,” Jesper has the wrapped gift clutched in his hands. He holds the gift out and looks away to hide a slight blush, “Here you go, Mom.” 

Edelgard smiles, “Thank-you Jesper.” She unwraps it, revealing a hand-written book bound together by twine. She flips through it, “Did you make this yourself?”

“Yeah, I wrote it . . . and drew the pictures,” Jesper mumbles. “It’s . . . it’s about a street rat who get adopted by a family and . . . y’know never mind, it’s stupid.”

Before Jesper can get away, Edelgard sets his book aside and captures him in a hug, “I love it.”

“You haven’t even read it,” Jesper argues as she kisses his forehead.

“I love it because you made it,” Edelgard insists. “I’ll read it tonight, I promise.”

In a quieter voice, he asks, “You will?”

“I will,” Edelgard promises. She kisses his cheek and that seems to be enough for him. He manages to squirm away when Cassidy comes up to hang from her knee. 

“Mama, can we have cake now?” Cassidy asks. 

Beatrice comes up behind her, “Yeah, we’re ready for cake!”

Edelgard laughs and picks Cassidy up as she stands, “Of course. I’ve been looking forward to it. You helped make it, right?”

“I did!” Cassidy declares. 

“We all helped,” Beatrice adds proudly.”

“Well,” Jesper scratches the back of his head. “I-”

Byleth puts a hand on his shoulder, “Everyone helped in their own way.”

“Yeah,” Jesper mumbles. “I guess I helped a bit.”

The party moves into the kitchen where they sing “happy birthday” to Edelgard and cut the cake. Despite the day’s tribulations, the cake is good (Edelgard, Lysithea and the girls eat most of it. It’s Edelgard’s birthday as no one can blame her). 

After the cake gets decimated, the party lasts late into the night. It’s not often all of the Black Eagles are in one place, so they make the most of it by trading stories, drinking, and laughing together. Byleth and Edelgard let the kids stay up later than usual, but eventually all five of them crash on the couch in the living room. 

As all good things must, the party comes to an end. Most of the Black Eagles are staying at an inn in town, but Hubert and Ferdinand shuffle into the guest room, leaving the Eisner Family alone. 

Even after the events of the day, Byleth and Edelgard are still awake. They’ve squeezed together on the loveseat, watching their own kids sleep and reading Jesper’s book. 

“This is very good,” Edelgard whispers. She shows Byleth one of his pictures, “And his illustrations are very charming. I wonder if he would like to join me in my studio . . .”

“I’m glad you like it,” Byleth murmurs. “He was closed off today. He must have been nervous about his gift.”

“I would love it, no matter what,” Edelgard insists. She sets the book down and glances at their children with a small smile on her face. 

“Did you have a good birthday?” Byleth asks. 

“Of course,” Edelgard takes her hand and squeezes it. “I got to spend the day with my family.”

Byleth kisses her forehead, “I love you, El.”

“I love you too, my light,” Edelgard glances back to the pile of sleeping children. “We should probably get them in their own beds.”

“Mh-hm.”

“Are you falling asleep on me now?”

“. . . No,” Byleth yawns.

“Come on,” Edelgard pats Byleth’s leg as she stands up. “Once they’re in bed, _you_ can go to bed.”

“You’re not going to sleep too?”

“I want to finish Jesper’s book. It’s _really_ good.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hey I hope you enjoyed! Leave a comment below to let me know what you think! If you want to hear more from me, follow me on Twitter at [shutupimshakira](https://twitter.com/Sniperdoodle12).


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